The petition of John Hall of Leicester, Leicestershire, 1646
To the right wor[shipfu]ll Dannett Abney Esq[ui]r[e] Maior of the Borough of Leicester, the wor[shi]p[fu]ll the Ald[e]r[m]en his brethren and the rest of that societie
The humble petic[i]on of John Hall
Sheweth
That the Petico[ne]r haveinge served as an apprentice to the trade or occupac[i]on of a Cordwainer or shoemaker according to the Stat[ute] & beinge desirous to travill to better his knowledge in workemanshipp, by the p[ro]vidence of God happened to settle himselfe to worke in this Towne where he wrought Journyworke nyneteene yeares & since hath followed the callinge of a cobler or translator for these foure yeares last past without contradicc[i]on vntill of late tyme
That hee hath maintained himselfe & his familie by his true labo[u]r (his wife beinge & a diseased woman & very chargeable to him for these seaventeene yeeres past) & hath bin helpefull & not chargeable to the towne, both in payment of taxes & other duties
That in defence of the towne, when it was taken, hee was sore wounded thereby loosing the vse of p[ar]te of his right hand to his greate detriment, & his goods plundred to the very walls, yet notwithstandinge hee is since restrained from using his said p[ro]fession as formerly accordinge to the ancyent & laudable Ordinall of the Company of shoemakers, & an Order of this hall settled in the last Maioraltie of Mr Billers, which hee humbly conceaves to bee done onely at the instance & by the hard p[ro]secucon of the Companie of shoemakers whose p[ro]ceedings & p[ro]secuc[i]on tends to the Petico[n]ers overthrow not onely herein, but allsoe themselves or a greate p[ar]te of them takeinge & ingressing the Coblers worke into their owne hands contrary to custome and an ancient order to the contrary.
Most humbly therefore hee prayes that by the favo[u]r of this Hall hee may bee p[er]mitted to follow his said callinge & p[ro]fession as formerly not offendinge the knowne ancyent Ordinall of the company of Shoemakers nor the knowne lawes of the land, or that yo[u]r wor[shi]ps would be pleased (his weake estate considered) to admit him to bee a Freeman of this Corporac[i]on vpon such reasonable Fyne as to yo[u]r wor[shi]ps shall seeme meete for which hee humbly refereth himselfe to yo[u]r wor[shi]ps & the rest assembled, & further that this Hall will be pleased to moderate the rigor of the Company of shoemakers in imposeinge a Fyne upon the petico[ne]r for his admittance into that that Fraternytie, that thereby hee may bee inabled to follow a callinge according to his educac[i]on for his future subsistence.
And as in dutie bound hee shall ever pray &c
<The petic[i]on[er] is p[er]mitted onely to mend old shooes and bootes as a Cobler, and not to sett any Fashion vpon any ware whatsoeu[er].>